Stay in town New Yorkers and get your tickets to see Neil Blumenthal now!

It may not be as big as Gilt or raised as much cash as Fab, but Warby Parker has to be one of the trendiest companies in the New York startup ecosystem.

It has a socially conscious mission. It's aggressively experimenting with pop-ups and showrooms and even slapping its hipster eyewear on traveling busses. It's created one of those rare H&M-like brands that is both affordable and cool. And, as we've reported before, it has one of the highest sales-per-square-foot of retail space ratios in the world.

All built around something that's classically nerdy -- big, thick-framed glasses. It's a whole new twist on the phrase "revenge of the nerds."

One of the masterminds behind it all is co-founder and CEO Neil Blumenthal, and he'll be our guest next Thursday for PandoMonthly in New York. Go here to get your tickets now!

It's always a little ballsy to do an event in New York the last week of August. But I was delighted to see that tickets have already been selling even before I put this post up. Who needs the Hamptons? Stay in town, grab some dim sum and beer, and learn how four friends from Wharton are building an empire disrupting Lens Crafters.